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Kappa
|mortality = Mortal |distinction = *Water-filled hollow on top of head *Feeds on human blood |affiliation = Dark Arts |class = Beast XXXX |status = Extant |bgcolor1 = |bgcolor2 = |sentience = }} The Kappa is a Japanese water demon that feeds on human blood. They are known for strangling humans that invade their shallow ponds. History The New York Ghost reported that a Kappa washed up on the Western Seaboard in 1926. A Kappa was an attraction of the Circus Arcanus. In 1927, one was present during the circus' tour in Paris, France. Its presence was later detected by Newton Scamander using the Tracking spell when the Magizoologist was trying to locate Porpentina Goldstein. In 1993, Professor Remus Lupin introduced his third year Defence Against the Dark Arts class to Kappas, which was the third creature they studied. - "After boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblinlike creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had got lost. From Red Caps they moved on to kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds." When covering the class for Professor Lupin, Professor Severus Snape incorrectly stated that a Kappa is a red haired imp-like creature. In the next school year, Bartemius Crouch Junior disguised as Alastor Moody briefly mentioned Kappas on the list Professor Lupin left him of creatures the class, fourth years at that time, had already studied. - "Seems you’ve had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures — you’ve covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?”" Description Kappas feed on the blood of humans, strangling anyone unlucky enough to wade into their ponds or rivers. One can protect themselves from, and appease a Kappa by throwing a cucumber inscribed with that person's name; however, if they can trick it into bowing, the water in its head will spill out, weakening it. They live in shallow water, mainly in Japan. When substituting for Professor Lupin in 1993, Professor Snape incorrectly asserted that they were commonly found in Mongolia. - "“Very poorly explained ... That is incorrect, the kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia. ... Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn’t have given it three. ...”" The Kappa resembles a scale-covered monkey with webbed hands and a water-filled depression atop its head. The water in this hollow is the source of the beast's strength. Behind the scenes *In Japan, some cucumber dishes such as cucumber sushi rolls (kappa-maki; Japanese: かっぱ巻き) and cucumber pickles (kappa-zuke; Japanese: かっぱ漬け) are named after the creature Kappa. This ties in with the Japanese urban legend that a Kappa can be appeased by a gift of a cucumber. *Concept art of the Kappa was created by Mark Dubeau for . However, the beast was never developed further for the film.Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Concept Art from Mark Dubeau **A Kappa eventually appears in , though the design looks quite different from Dubeau's concept art. Appearances * * * * * * * Notes and references de:Kappa de2:Kappa es:Kappa fr:Kappa it:Kappa ja:河童 nl:Kappa no:Strypenøkk pl:Kappa pt-br:Kappa ru:Каппа sv:Kappa zh:卡巴 Category:Beasts Category:Creatures from Japan Category:Defence Against the Dark Arts Category:Muggle-known creatures Category:Water demons Category:XXXX Creatures